Abstract
John Amos Comenius was a Czech theologian, philosopher, writer, and educational reformer. Although renowned primarily for his didactic and pedagogical legacy, today it is his philosophical and theological works that are gaining increasing attention. These are represented mainly by the extensive treatise De Rerum Humanarum Emendatione Consultatio Catholica (General Consultation on the Improvement of Human Affairs), in which Comenius contemplates the ways to remedy the three basic human institutes (philosophy, politics, and religion) through the systematization of knowledge based on a new methodology, a new system of education, and a new universal language and through building new social organizations. Comenius’ works as such were heavily influenced by eschatology, rejection of violence, and the pursuit of religious reconciliation.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Primary Literature
Comenius, John Amos. 1657. Lux in tenebris, hoc est Prophetiae donum. Amstelodami [publisher not identified].
Comenius, John Amos. 1665. Lux e tenebris novis radiis aucta. Lugduni Batavorum [publisher not identified].
Comenius, John Amos. De rerum humanarum emendatione consultatio catholica. Vol. I and II. Prague: Academia 1966.
Comenius, John Amos. Dílo Jana Amose Komenského/Johannis Amos Comenii opera omnia. Prague: ČSAV, Academia, 17 vols. Since 1969. For the contents of the volumes, see: http://komeniologie.flu.cas.cz/cz/edice-djak/opera-omnia
Comenius, John Amos. 1969a. Amphitheatrum universitatis rerum. In Opera omnia 1, 183–200. Prague: Academia.
Comenius, John Amos. 1969b. Theatrum universitatis rerum. In Opera omnia 1, 95–181. Prague: Academia.
Comenius, John Amos. J. A. Comenius: Selections from His Works. Prague: SPN 1964.
Comenius, John Amos. Veškeré spisy Jana Amose Komenského, 8 vols., Brno: Ústřední Spolek Jednot učitelskyćh na Moravě 1910–1929
Comenius, John Amos. 1978a. Centrum securitatis, Renuntiatio mundi. In Opera omnia 3, 473–564. Prague: Academia.
Comenius, John Amos. 1978b. Labyrint světa a ráj srdce [Labyrinth of the World and Paradise of the Heart]. In Opera omnia 3, 267–412. Prague: Academia.
Comenius, John Amos. 1978c. Truchlivý I [The Mournful I]. In Opera omnia 3, 19–65. Prague: Academia.
Comenius, John Amos. Opera didactica omnia I-III. Prague: Academia 1975.
Comenius, John Amos. 1974a. Pansophiae diatyposis. In Opera omnia 14, 169–278. Prague: Academia.
Comenius, John Amos. 1974b. Unum necessarium. In Opera omnia 18, 71–145. Prague: Academia.
Comenius, John Amos. 1974c. Via lucis. In Opera omnia 14, 281–385. Prague: Academia.
Comenius, John Amos. The Labyrinth of the world and the paradise of the heart, that is a bright portrayal showing that in this world and in its works there is nothing but confusion and staggering, floundering and drudgery, deceit and fraud, misery … . Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press 1972.
Comenius, John Amos. Vybrané spisy J. A. Komenského I-VIII. Prague: SPN 1958–1978
Comenius, John Amos. 1989a. Conatuum pansophicorum dilucidatio. In Opera omnia 15/II, 57–82. Prague: Academia.
Comenius, John Amos. 1989b. Pansophiae praeludium. In Opera omnia 15/II, 11–53. Prague: Academia.
Comenius, John Amos. 1992. Clamores Eliae. In Opera omnia 23. Prague: Academia.
Secondary Literature
Blekastad, Milada. 1969. Comenius. Versuch eines Umrisses von Leben, Werk und Schicksal des Jan Amos Komenský. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
Caravolas, Jean. 2016. Les Français et Jan Amos Coménius: histoire d’une relation difficile (1631–2000). Paris: Honoré Champion Éditeur.
Červenka, Jaromír. 1970. Die Naturphilosophie des Johann Amos Comenius. Prague: Academia.
Čížek, Jan. 2016. The conception of man in the works of John Amos Comenius. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang Verlag.
Floss, Pavel. 1968. Příroda, člověk a společnost v díle J. A. Komenského [Nature, man and society in the work of John Amos Comenius]. Přerov: MNV.
Floss, Pavel. 1997. Grundriss der Philosophie des Johann Amos Comenius. Studia Comeniana et Historica 57–58(XXVII): 5–35.
Floss, Pavel. 2005. Poselství J. A. Komenského současné Evropě [Comenius’s Message to Today’s Europe]. Brno: Soliton.
Goris, Wouter, Vladimír Urbánek, and Meinert A. Meyer (eds.). 2016. Gewalt Sei Ferne Den Dingen!: Contemporary perspectives on the works of John Amos Comenius. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.
Kalivoda, Robert. 1992. Husitská epocha a J. A. Komenský [The Hussite era and John Amos Comenius]. Prague: Odeon.
Kopecký, Jaromír, Jan Patočka, and Jiří Kyrášek. 1957. Jan Amos Komenský. Nástin života a díla díla [John Amos Comenius: An outline of his life and work]. Prague: SPN.
Kumpera, Jan. 1992. Jan Amos Komenský. Poutník na rozhraní věků [John Amos Comenius: A pilgrim at the turn of eras]. Ostrava: Amosium Servis.
Novák, Jan V., and Josef Hendrich. 1932. Jan Amos Komenský. Jeho život a spisy [John Amos Comenius. His life and works]. Prague: Dědictví Komenského.
Patočka, Jan. 1997. Komeniologické studie I [Comeniological studies I]. Prague: OIKOYMENH.
Patočka, Jan. 1998. Komeniologické studie II [Comeniological studies II]. Prague: OIKOYMENH.
Patočka, Jan. 2003. Komeniologické studie III [Comeniological studies III]. Prague: OIKOYMENH.
Pavlas, Petr. 2015. Trinus liber Dei: Komenského místo v dějinách metaforiky knihy [Trinus Liber Dei: Comenius’s place in the history of book metaphor]. Červený Kostelec: Pavel Mervart.
Popelová, Jiřina. 1958. Jana Amose Komenského cesta k všenápravě [Comenius’s path to a great reformation]. Prague: SPN.
Turnbull, G.H. 1947. Hartlib, Dury and Comenius: Gleanings from Hartlib’s papers. London: University Press of Liverpool.
Urbánek, Vladimír. 2013. Komeniologie a intelektuální dějiny raného novověku [The comeniology and early modern intellectual history]. In Základní problémy studia raného novověku, ed. Marie Šedivá Koldinská and Ivo Cerman. Prague: Nakladatelství Lidové noviny.
Válka, Josef. 1994. Komenský a nadkonfesijní křesťanství [Comenius and Non-Denominational Christianity]. Studia Comeniana et Historica 51(XXIV): 124–130.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Čížek, J. (2022). Comenius, Jan Amos. In: Sgarbi, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Renaissance Philosophy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14169-5_1162
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14169-5_1162
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-14168-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-14169-5
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities